Fire-escape



(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. D. RfiLLMANN.

FIRE ESCAPE.

No. 396,175. atented Jan. 15,1889.

N, PETERS. Pholo-Lflhogmphcr, Wznhinglnn. D, C.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. D. RfiLLMANN.

FIRE ESCAPE.

No. 396,175. Patented Jan. 15, 1889.

' INVENTOI? WIT/V 88E8: @JL M ATTORNEY 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.'

(No Model.) H

J. D. RULLMANN.

FIRE ESCAPE.

PatentdJan. 15, 1889.

ATTORNEY N PETERS. Pmwumo' m hu, Washin ton, D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

JOHN D. Rt'rLLMANN, or SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.

FlRE-ESCA PE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 396,175, dated January 15, 1889.

Applic i n filed April 18, 1888. Serial No. 271,109 (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN D. Ri'ILLMANN, of San Antonio, in the county of Bexar and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is in the nature of a fire-escape and observation-tower, which may be raised or extended at any point, or be lowered and compactly folded for transportation.

It consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of the tower and various parts of the same, which I will now proceed to fully describe with reference to the drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the tower in its raised or elevated position. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same. Fig. -is a side elevation, on a larger scale, showing the tower lowered or collapsed. Fig. at is a side elevation of the top part of the tower. Fig. 5 is a section of the same through line a: 00. Fig. 6 is a horizontal section of the tower. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the folding bridge; and Fig. 8 is a sectional plan view of the wormgear for raising the tower.

A, Figs. 1 and 3, represents a platform, which is mounted upon a strong runninggear composed of heavy wheels and axles, by which the tower is made portable. This platform is adjusted to a true level by levelingscrews (0.

B is a strong deck mounted upon the platform by means of strong upright end supports, B.

A is the first of a series of movable platforms, A A? A A A A A These platforms are connected to and supported by a series of toggle-levers, O C, at each of their four corners, which toggle-levers are arranged in pairs, after the manner of lazy-tongs, and are fulcruined on rods D, that are fixed in the platforms and extend from the toggle-levers 011 one side to those on the other. About the center of the lower platform, A, is mounteda hollow conical casing, E, Fig. 3, surmounted by a large and strong screw-nut, E, that fits the thread of a large screw-shaft, E, which is firmly attached to the center of the under side of the first movable platform, A. As this screw-nut E is turned, it causes the shaft, with the platform A, to rise, and this motion of the platform A, in tending to straighten or bring together the toggle-levers O of the lazytongs, causes each of the higher platforms to rise, each higher one rising with an accelerated motion.

The toggle-levers O C have their ends on one side connected to the moving ends of the pair on the other side by rods 0 C, Figs. 2 and 5, and when the tower is fully extended the two levers (l (.1 of each pair have their ends (which are connected to the rods 0) lying against each other, as in Figs. 1 and 4:.

To hold the tower against swaying while it is being elevated and to brace it when elevated, I use two sets of devices. One of these is a series of guide-bars, F F F &c. These guide-bars are mounted vertically upon opposite ends of each platform and are strongly braced to said platforms. The top of each guide-bar slides through a slot or opening-in the platform next above, and thus the plat forms are kept in vertical alignment. To brace the tower when extended, I employ 011 each side of the tower a set of supplemental toggle-levers, G G, which are fulcrumed on a rod, G, extending across the platforms, which rods are free to move vertically, but are restricted as to lateral motion by guides g 011 the platforms. These bracing toggle-levers cross each other at one platform, and are jointed to the fulcrum or cross-rods at D at the outer ends of the platforms above and below. Said bracing toggle-levers have a reverse action to the toggle-levers which raise the platform-21 6., the lifting toggle-levers close toward a vertical position when the platforms are being raised, while the bracing toggle-levers open from a horizontal position at the same time. To prevent these bracet-oggles from interfering with the folding of the lifting toggle-levers C", I make in the toggle-levers G knuckle-joints j, which, after the manner of carriage-top props, bend in one direction and lock in the other. These knuckle-joints j in 'my tower are arranged to fold outwardly, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4, and lock byinward movement when the tower is fully extended. H is an endless flexible belt, which is dis- 3 tended around two rollers, k is, on the main frame below, and two rollers, Z I, at the top of the tower. This belt passes down through a hatchway in each platform (see Fig. (i) and rises outside of the tower on the other side. This belt is provided with pockets in, which are designed for the reception of articles taken from the upper stories of the burning building, and also for the reception of children and helpless or insensible persons. These pockets are provided with a hook and eye or other fastenin for closing the tops of the pockets. To stop or retard the descent of this belt, one of the pulleys 7:. below is provided (see Fig. 1) with a crank, 22, and has teeth that engage with eyelets in the belt.

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At the opposite end of each platform from .j however, to make the outer edge of the nut (see Fig. with teeth, into which meshes a that which has the hatchway for the belt there are formed other gangways for folding ladders composed of hinged sections I 1*. (See Figs. (3 and These ladders are hung to the under side of each platform and descend to the platform below; or they may, as shown by dotted lines, 11ig..5, hang straight downv the gangways, as may be desirable for the quick ascent of firemen with the hose. \Vhen not in use and the tower is to be .folded, the ladders are folded and fastened by books to the under side of their platforms, as in Fig. 5.

The toggle-levers and smaller memljiers of the upper structure of the tower are made of hollow steel for lightness, strength, and protection from fire. It may be necessary, however, to protect the platforms and persons on them from the heat of flames bursting through the side of the burning building, and for this purpose a hose-pipe, 19, passes through a hole in each platform and extends to a double trough-shaped receptacle, J, Figs. 4 and 5, at the top, with which it ctnnnninicates. This receptacle has a sort of caves-trough on opposite sides of the tower, whose bottom is pierced with perforations, and when water is forced into the hose from. the engine the water issuing into the troughs above falls in sheets of spray down beside the tower, so as to afford a protection to the tower and persons in it from the flames or radiated heat of the building.

In order to take persons from the windows of the burning buildin g, every other platform is provided. with an extensible bridge, (see Fig. 7,) and in order to allow these bridges to remain on the platforms when the tower is lowered without occupying much space said bridge is made to fold fiat, so as to occupy only the thickness of its board. For this purpose the foot-board or gang-plank iii of the bridge is cut away at four places along its edges, and in these cut-away port ions are pivo oted folding standards t, which at their opposite cnds are pivoted to a hand-rail, 0. 'When folded, the standards t drop into the plane of the foot-board in the cut-away portions thereof, and the hand-rail folds into the same plane 5 along the outer edge thereof, as shown in dotted lines, so that the whole bridgeoccupies but the space of the thickness of the footboard between the platforms ot the tower.

from its ')latform, these adjustable hooked bars are fastened by pins 1* at the right height, and their upper hooked ends are made'to catch in the window-sill and sustain that end of the bridge while persons are escaping from the window.

Turning the scrcw-nut E for raising the tower may be done in various ways. I prefer,

worm, w, on a shaft, 11', which latter is arranged in bearings on the main frame, and is provided with a crank for turning it.

In making use of my invention I do not confine it to use as a tire-escape, but may employ it as an observation-tower or for other analogous purpose.

Having thus described my invmition, what I claim as new is- 1. An extensible tower consisting of a series of platforms, a series of lifting toggle-levers arranged in pairs as lazy-tongs at. the four corners, and a series of bracing toggle-levers arranged, as described, to work reversely to the lifting-toggles, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

An extensible tower consisting of a series of platforms, a series of lifting togglelevers arranged in pairs as lazy-ton gs at the four corners, and a series of bracing togglelevers arranged to work reversely to the lift ing-toggles, and having in their lengths outward] y-f old in g and ll iwardly-lock in g kn ucklejoints j, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. Au extensible tower consisting of a series of vertically-adjustable platforms with hatchways, combined with a series of support ing toggle-levers, and folding ladders extemling from one platform to the next, substantially as shown and described.

at. The combination, with an extensible tower, of a water-receptacle arranged at the top of the same and having perforated eavestroughs and a hose-pipe leading thereto from below for showering spray down between. the tower and a burning building, as described.

5. The combination, in an extensible tower, of the vertically-adjustable platforms, the series of lazy-tongs for lifting the same, and a set of rigid upright guide-bars arranged on each platform and extending through an open ing in the plat-form above, substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. The combination, with an extensible tower consisting of a series of Vertically-adjustable platforms haying hatchways and lifting devices, as described, of a set of pulleys or rollers arranged at the top and bottom.

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of the tower, and an endless belt with pockets passing around said rollers and through the hatohways for the safe lowering of goods and 'persons, as set forth.

planks having folding hand-rails adapted to 10 be folded and rest between the platforms when lowered, substantially as shown and described.

JOHN D. RULLMANN.

Witnesses: SoLoN C. KEMON, CHAS. A. PETTIT. 

